Director of Engineering

Director of Engineering

Location: London, E14 9SH – hybrid role, open to candidates across the UK
Hours of work: 40
Contract Type: Permanent

Our client, a leading provider of facilities services in the UK, is seeking an experienced Director of Engineering to provide strategic leadership, operational governance, and oversight of engineering services across a UK-wide portfolio.

Job Overview

This senior leadership role is accountable for Technical Services across a complex corporate estate, with responsibility for ensuring 100% uptime of all critical infrastructure and service delivery in line with all legal and regulatory requirements. Operating within a high-availability, high-risk environment, the role requires a resilient and credible leader who can balance strategic direction with hands-on technical oversight.

The Director of Engineering will act as the senior technical authority for the account, aligning engineering operations with industry best practice and global standards. A strong emphasis is placed on client relationship management, executive influence, and the use of data-led insight to drive operational excellence, resilience, and continuous improvement at scale.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership and governance for engineering services across the UK client portfolio.
• Lead Hard FM delivery, ensuring all KPIs and SLAs are met, including the objective of 100% critical infrastructure uptime.
• Maintain robust oversight of asset management strategies to support reliability, resilience, and lifecycle planning.
• Ensure full compliance with all statutory, legal, and regulatory requirements across the estate.
• Lead, develop, and support a high-performing team of four, including two Regional Engineering Leads.
• Act as the senior technical authority, challenging design, operational, and investment decisions where appropriate.
• Drive innovation, governance, and operational excellence using data-led insight to reduce risk and improve performance.
• Build and maintain strong, trusted relationships with senior client stakeholders.

Person Specification

• Director-level experience, or a senior “number two” with significant deputising experience at director level.
• Extensive experience in critical engineering within critical facilities, data centres, or complex corporate banking environments.
• Proven ability to operate effectively in high-risk, high-availability environments with resilience and decisiveness.
• Strong client management capability with the credibility to influence executives and senior stakeholders.
• Degree or equivalent qualification in Building Services Engineering, Electrical/Mechanical Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Evidenced training and competence in managing high-risk works, including HV and LV systems, pressure systems, and confined spaces.
• Strategic, systems-level thinker with strong commercial and operational awareness.
• Highly analytical, using performance data to drive continuous improvement and risk reduction.

Full UK driving licence required; the role is home-based with travel across the client account as required.